1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the routing and distribution of low voltage cabling within a building, and more particularly to the routing of communications cable, including voice, data, and video to a consolidation point through horizontal cable runs for user access to the cable proximate user work stations.
2. Description of Background Art
The concept of an open office and open office architecture has become accepted practice in many businesses and in many countries. Open office architecture permits communication cable to be routed from its entry into a building through risers vertically to wiring closets on multiple floors, horizontally to a distribution point within a work area, and ultimately to user work stations.
Heretofore in the telecommunications industry, in order to provide telephone or networking service to a plurality of customers in a building, a centralized location has been designated which is customarily called a main distribution frame (MDF). The MDF is typically a common room, closet or wall of a room, set aside for the routing of all of the communication cables for all of the work stations of different entities and users in all of the offices or tenant spaces in the building. The MDF and intermediate distribution frame (IDF) must be located away from electrical power connections in order to avoid electromagnetic interference with communications transmission. Vertical cables, sometimes referred to as "backbone cables", provide continuity from the MDF to each IDF located with the riser shaft. The IDFs are sometimes referred to as telecommunications closets (TCs). Each work station with communications capability added or changed requires new lengths of cable to be led to and from the centralized IDF, often involving lengthy and circuitous routing, thus extensive amounts of cable are required. The space required for the IDF can be sizable, and it lessens the amount of floor space available for other uses by which leasing income from tenants could be earned. Another disadvantage of IDFs is that they are necessarily accessible by all tenants of the building, resulting in little or no security from meddling therewith.
In addition, when office churn rates are considered, recabling becomes a major factor in the cost of an office relocation. With the extended use of voice, data, and video equipment, and thus cable, in a typical office environment, the open office architecture has all but become a necessity for major businesses. Open office cabling permits efficient and cost effective recabling. A user network of data connections can be made to be accessible at many locations and installed by the user, thus eliminating such an expense from the office building owner.
With such open office architecture, comes the extensive use of cabling systems which include "consolidation points." The consolidation point includes a location for interconnection between horizontal cables that extend from building pathways and horizontal cables that extend into work area pathways, as defined by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). Further, the "consolidation point" offers transition from permanent horizontal cabling to flexible open office cabling. Also defined by the TIA is the multi-user telecommunications outlet assembly which is a grouping in one location of several telecommunication outlets/connectors.
The telecommunications industry, rapidly advancing technology, and user demands have created the need to provide efficient and cost effective systems, devices, and method useful by the user for providing access to communications cable from the work stations. Such is the motivation behind the present invention.